title: Herpes zoster surveillance using electronic databases in the Valencian Community (Spain).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiologic data of Herpes Zoster (HZ) disease in Spain are scarce. The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiology of HZ in the Valencian Community (Spain), using outpatient and hospital electronic health databases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 2007 to 2010 was collected from computerized health databases of a population of around 5 million inhabitants. Diagnoses were recorded by physicians using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). A sample of medical records under different criteria was reviewed by a general practitioner, to assess the reliability of codification.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average annual incidence of HZ was 4.60 per 1000 persons-year (PY) for all ages (95% CI: 4.57-4.63), is more frequent in women [5.32/1000PY (95% CI: 5.28-5.37)] and is strongly age-related, with a peak incidence at 70-79 years. A total of 7.16/1000 cases of HZ required hospitalization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Electronic health database used in the Valencian Community is a reliable electronic surveillance tool for HZ disease and will be useful to define trends in disease burden before and after HZ vaccine introduction.
authors.affiliation: Vaccine Research Area, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region FISABIO - Public Health, Valencia, Spain. diez_jav@gva.es.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morant-Talamante
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diez-Domingo
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martínez-Úbeda
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puig-Barberá
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alemán-Sánchez
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérez-Breva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult